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- in so many words
in so many words
in so many words
Fig. exactly; explicitly; in plain, clear language. I told her in so many words to leave me alone. He said yes, but not in so many words.
in so many words
directly or very clearly
He told me, in so many words, to mind my own business. Usage notes: often used in the form not in so many words: She didn't say it in so many words, but it was clear that she thought I was wrong.
in so many words
directly or in a way that makes it very clear what you mean (usually negative) 'Did he say we could stay with him?' 'Well, not in so many words, but that's definitely what he meant.' He told me, in so many words, to mind my own business.
in so many words
In those precise words; also, plainly, directly. For example, He didn't tell me in so many words, but I understood that he planned to apply, or, as Charles Dickens put it in Sketches by "Boz" (1836): "That the Lord Mayor had threatened in so many words to pull down the London Bridge." [Late 1600s]
in so many words
1. In precisely those words; exactly: hinted at impending indictments but did not say it in so many words.
2. Speaking candidly and straightforwardly: In so many words, the weather has been beastly.